We Gather Here Today
by RabbitRun
Summary: In forty-five minutes, Robin will be standing in front of the love of his life, stumbling over a set of vows that he has yet to write. Luckily, he has someone to take all of his jumbled up thoughts and help him create something worth talking about. Rob/Rae friendship, Rob/Star pairing, hinted at BB/Rae.


I don't own anything related to Teen Titans. Make of this what you will, but I wrote it as a Rob/Rae friendship and Rob/Star pairing with a slight hint of BB/Rae. Enjoy.

"Goddammit!"

For what seemed like the eightieth time that day, Robin slammed the crumpled piece of paper onto the office's large oaken table, its drawers rattling with the force. It was hopeless—_he _was hopeless. How Starfire expected him—the logical, obsessive-compulsive, unhealthily left-brained Richard Grayson—to write and memorize his own set of vows and emotionally pour them out in front of a sea of wide-eyed spectators was completely beyond him. Leaning his forehead against the wall, he squinted his eyes shut and took a deep, shuddering breath. He wasn't a drinker, but what he wouldn't do for a shot of something strong and intensely alcoholic right about now…

After a few minutes of listening to the light chatter of guests filing into the courtyard below, he straightened up and grudgingly walked over to the wadded up paper sitting ominously on the desk. He grimaced as he unfolded it and looked over his unusually-messy handwriting. The dark blue scrawl had been crossed out, doodled over, and rewritten so many times that it looked like a five year-old's first attempt at learning the alphabet. He didn't get it—it wasn't like he didn't love his fiancée, or that he didn't want to get married—quite the opposite, in fact. For some reason, though, he just couldn't take all the damn feelings floating around in his brain and make them into something remotely intelligible. In the distance, a set of church bells played a lighthearted tune, signifying that midday had finally come.

Noon. In just forty-five short minutes, he would be standing in front of his future bride blubbering like an idiot as she stared at him with that overly-concerned puppy-dog look that he had grown to love so much. God, why had he agreed to her when she proposed a courtyard wedding at Bruce Wayne's summer mansion? Why hadn't they just eloped to Nebraska or Canada or some other place where life forms were virtually nonexistent?

A light knock on the door made him jump and slam his knee on the bottom of the desk; grumbling, he rubbed the growing lump and glared at the source of the pain.

"Sorry—_ow_—no guests allowed!"

"What if it's an old friend claiming sanctuary?" A dry voice called from outside the room.

His expression softening, Robin tossed the paper back onto the table and began to walk towards the entrance, but Raven had managed to silently slip in before he could even reach it. She teetered unsurely towards a large armchair before kicking off her heels and glaring at them as if they had wronged her. Robin let a playful whistle out the side of his mouth.

"Well, well, aren't we dressed to impress? Trying to show up the bride?"

Raven shot him the darkest scowl she could muster. "Yeah, right. With the amount of ridiculous frills in Starfire's dress, I'll be lucky if I manage to make it through the day without getting absorbed in its wake."

Chuckling lightly, Robin strode over to perch on the edge of the arm rest. "How's she doing?"

"Oh, you know. Nervous, excited, freaking out about every little detail that could possibly go wrong while managing to talk for ungodly long periods of time without tiring. If I hear about the ratio of pasta to chicken dinners one more time I swear to God I'm going to send her voice box to another dimension."

"How'd you manage to escape?"

"I may or may not have told her that the flower deliverers were putting lilies on the guests' tables instead of orchids."

"You're horrible."

"I've been called worse." Stretching, Raven yawned and coughed suddenly when the dress' mid-section tightened around her waist. "I hate dresses. How do people breathe in them?"

"They don't. They just hold it."

"Hm." Groaning, Raven hoisted herself up from the armchair and began walking towards the center table. Seeing what she was intending to do, Robin raised a hand.

"Wait, don't—"

It was too late. The violet-haired girl had already unfolded the ruined sheet and begun to read it. He watched with weary eyes as a characteristic smirk graced her features.

"What is this poor piece of paper and what did it ever do to you to deserve this?"

"Well, it was going to be my vows…"

Raven raised an eyebrow and looked up at him in confusion. "It looks like a fifth-grader's lab report."

"Really? I had no idea," he snapped, glaring in his friend's direction.

"You _do_ have an actual version lying around here somewhere, right?"

Robin remained silent.

"Please tell me you're joking."

"Do I look like I'm joking?" He mumbled through gritted teeth, feeling a familiar sensation of anxiety and nervousness beginning to bubble in his stomach.

"Look, I'm just saying that you're getting married in forty minutes and you don't even have a decent set of—"

"I know!" He roared. "You know, not that you haven't been an _enormous _help, but would you mind leaving? Like you said, I have less than an hour to write these things, and unless you've recently developed some kind of miraculous romantically poetic writing abilities, it's not going to be thanks to you. When was the last time you were even _in_ a relationship?"

For a split second, a glint of hurt flashed through Raven's eyes, although she quickly recomposed herself and continued to stare blankly at Robin with her usual deadpan gaze. His expression losing some of its impatient edge, Robin sighed and walked over to lay a hand on her shoulder.

"Listen, Raven, I'm sorry—I didn't mean any of that. I say stupid things when I'm stressed. I'm sure you could write them better than me. Hell, a sofa probably could." He grimaced again. "Sorry, that probably sounded like an insult."

Raven snorted and glanced back at the paper. "Forgiven. I'm familiar with your stress patterns. But in all seriousness, if you want some kind of assistance…I mean, I'm no Shakespeare, but I've been reading books since I learned to walk. And there may have even been a romance novel or two here and there—but don't tell Beast Boy," she added quickly with a slight blush.

Robin ran a hand through his hair and gave an exasperated shrug. "I don't know. Sure. Why not? You sure you're ready?"

"When it comes to you, I'm ready for anything. Let's start by getting rid of this." Robin heard a loud ripping sound, and before he could stop her, she had torn up the paper and tossed it into the nearby wastebasket.

"Hey, what are you—"

"Sometimes the best way to improve is to start again from the beginning. Besides, that thing had seen better days."

Walking much more gracefully now without her heels, Raven returned to the armchair and sat down. After adjusting the hem of her dress, she leaned back and looked at him impatiently.

"Well?"

"Oh! Sorry." Robin cleared his throat awkwardly and began to reach for a notebook that lay abandoned on one of the many bookcases.

"No. No paper."

Robin raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, how do you expect me to write my vows without something to, you know…write _on_?"

Shaking her head, Raven crossed one leg over the other and began to methodically tap her fingers on the armrest. "You don't need it. Just talk to me—pretend we're sitting in your room having a normal conversation. Like it's just any other day and it's just you and me in the tower."

Nodding, Robin hooked his foot around the leg of a stool and pulled it so that it rested across from Raven. Sheepishly, he sat down on it and folded his hands in his lap, bouncing his leg up and down anxiously. "Okay…you sure you won't judge me for, you know, sounding like an idiot?"

"I've listened to Beast Boy talk for an hour and a half about whether or not squirrels have feelings—trust me, you're not going to sound like an idiot. Come on, just talk to me. We have half an hour to perfect this thing."

For a moment, the two sat in awkward silence, the only sound the quiet ticking of the grandfather clock looming in the corner.

"So…what do you want me to say?"

"Anything. Talk about Starfire. Why are you marrying her?"

"Is this a trick question?"

"No, not at all. I want to know why you're marrying her."

"Um…because I love her?" He finished lamely.

"Are you telling me or asking me?" Raven asked riley, casually glancing at her un-manicured fingernails.

"I'm telling you that I love her."

"Okay, that's something, I guess. Why do you love her?"

"Because she's pretty…and nice…"

Raven lifted her eyes from her fingernails. "Okay, let's try that again using our grown-up words. Why do you love her?"

Robin ran a hand over his face."Because she's the most amazing girl I've ever met. And she's beautiful and kind-hearted and incredibly sweet, and whenever she smiles it's like I'm floating. And when she's gone, I feel…incomplete. Like I can't be wholly happy if she's not with me."

Raven gave an uncharacteristically wide, warm smile, and Robin felt himself start to relax, if only a little. "Now we're getting somewhere. Tell me more about Starfire. When did you realize you were in love with her?"

"Well, I thought she was special from the moment we met…I mean, after I figured out she wasn't an alien terrorist bent on destroying the city, but…" He paused. "This is so cheesy."

"All vows are cheesy. That's what they're made for—you can be as sappy and as disgustingly romantic as you want and everyone will love you for it. So go on."

"Okay…well, I guess she was so different than anyone else I had ever met. She was funny, cheerful, energetic…she laughed a lot. And she made me laugh. Laughter was so rare in my life that when Star came along and reintroduced it to me, I felt like I had a new energy, new purpose. She made me happy. She made me feel _emotions_. Before her, I wasn't allowed to feel…every problem I had was supposed to be bottled up inside and eliminated through training and exercise and fighting. But she let me know that it's okay to feel, and to cry and laugh and be myself. There was one day—the anniversary of my parents' death—that I was standing on the roof so that no one would see me cry. But she found me and told me that it was okay to cry…that there was no shame in it and that she still respected me for the person I was. I appreciated all of you and your efforts to comfort me, but…Star was different. That was the first time I've ever felt like I could show myself displaying weakness and be okay with it. It was when I first realized I loved her. And I just felt this comfort wash over me, because in the past I had had such a stigma about love and falling in love and starting a future with somebody, and suddenly, it was just…gone."

"And why did you feel that way?" Raven said softly.

"Because Bruce had always taught me that heroes couldn't have romances or love. It was a distraction. Doing your duty was your primary responsibility—you didn't have time for anything else." Robin rubbed thoughtfully at his ring finger for a moment; how strange, he thought, that in a little over half an hour there would be a permanent gold band shining there.

He glanced up at Raven, who was now leaning forward and resting her chin on her hand. A strange expression twitched at her lips, and she stared into his eyes intensely.

"And you know that's not true now, right?"

"Yeah, of course. Because of her. It's just that…" He felt a strange, foreign lump form in his throat, and he quickly shut his mouth for fear of sounding too shaky. Hesitantly, as if she weren't used to being the one to instigate any sort of physical contact, Raven reached out and took his hand in her own.

"It's just that what?"

"It's just that…I never thought I would get here, to this point. The day my parents died…" He paused and took a shaky breath; he felt Raven give his hand a short, reassuring squeeze.

"The day my parents died, my world fell apart. Everything—my life, my future, my_self_—ceased to be normal. I became a machine, bent on avenging Mom and Dad's deaths. I wanted to make it so that others wouldn't have to suffer what I went through. I never thought that I would be anything other than this crime-fighting robot. And now, here I am, about to get married to the love of my life, about to start a family, about to take on the role that my parents never got to, and I…I don't know, I'm _happy_. For the first time in twenty years, my life feels normal. Kori gave me the strength I needed to realize that my soul isn't tied to my parents' fate—that I could love and laugh and be myself, and still have my parents be a part of me, without closing myself off to the world. She filled that emptiness that's been a part of me since I was five years old. When I'm with her, I'm not just human, I'm…whole."

A single tear rolled down his cheek, and before he knew it, his entire body was shaking with loud, desperate sobs, his breath coming out in short gasps. He was too preoccupied to notice Raven silently moving from her armchair to sit next to him, and, leaning her head against his, she wrapped her arms around him.

They stayed just like that until the tears subsided, Raven rubbing small circles on his back while he cried into the crook of her neck. Finally, the young woman opened her mouth to speak.

"There. You just gave the most perfect set of vows without even having to pick up a pencil. Say exactly that to her, and I guarantee you that you'll have made her the happiest bride in the city."

His gasps subsiding, Robin wiped a few final tears from his face and turned to look at his friend, sniffling loudly. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

Raven smiled and squeezed him a little more tightly. "You deserve this more than anyone I know, and I'm glad I got to see it happen. You're the strongest person I've ever met—Starfire's lucky to have found someone like you. And you're lucky to have found someone like her; you're perfect for each other. Your parents would be proud of you, you know. I know I am." Running a hand through her hair, she craned her neck to look at the grandfather clock against the wall. "I should get back, though; those poor flower men have probably suffered enough. And you need to get outside—you're getting married in fifteen minutes." With a small smile, she got up from the chair and slipped on her shoes, promptly stumbling over them after starting towards the door. She sighed in frustration.

"These stupid shoes. If I fall and break my neck walking down the aisle, don't stop the ceremony on account of me—just kick me off to the side 'till it's done."

Robin smiled. "Will do. And Raven?"

He strode over to her and, throwing his arms around her, brushed her lips with a light, tender kiss, one not of romance or passion, but of friendship and gratefulness. "Thank you. Really. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Before Raven could answer, another pounding sounded through the door, this time louder and with much more intensity.

"Ra-a-ven! Are you in there? Get your booty out here, 'cause we've got official wedding business to attend to! Also I need your help- I accidentally dropped my corsage in the toilet and started to flush it, and now it's just kind of stuck in the drain thing-y and I don't know how to get it out!"

Robin chuckled as Raven rolled her eyes. "That man. I can't believe I have to walk down the aisle with him." She turned to face Robin. "But, to respond to your earlier statement, likewise. You mean a lot to me—I wouldn't be where I am today without you. I just hope that this can somehow repay you for everything you've done for me. And, you know, if you start to freak out on the altar, just look at me and remember that I'm only a few feet away. Not that you'll have any trouble—I'm sure once you see her you won't even need to think twice about what you need to say. But if you need anything, I'll be right there, Richard."

The thumping began again. "RA-AVEN! I HEAR YOUR VOICE! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! DON'T MAKE ME KNOCK DOWN THIS DOOR!"

"You need something called muscles in order to do that!" Raven shouted at the entryway before turning to look at Robin. "Okay, I should really go now. Promise you'll be okay?"

"Promise. And you promise that you'll save a dance for me?"

A half-smile crept up the woman's lips. "Well, Beast Boy has already threatened to super glue our hips together if I refuse to be his dance partner, but I think I can, er, _convince_ him to let me spare at least one song."

"Perfect. See you then."

"Sounds good, Boy Wonder. Now you go get married."

The two exchanged one last embrace before Raven hustled over to the still blabbering Beast Boy. When the door closed and the chatter finally ceased—something about Raven threatening to stuff Beast Boy into the toilet along with his corsage—Robin turned to look at himself in the mirror. He heard another set of church bells ringing, this time signaling the patrons' final call to their chairs, but suddenly, he didn't feel so nervous. He was ready.

He turned to face the door. It was time to get married.

There you go. Cheesy, angsty, and hopefully not too out-of-character. R&R if you would like.


End file.
